"Agent Hotchner. We're concerned about the reckless decision you made to walk alone—"

"I wasn't alone."

"—unarmed—"

"I wasn't unarmed."

"—and without calling for backup into a location controlled by known hostiles! You could have been killed!"

Hotch didn't flinch. He slid his gaze, unerringly, from one member of the board to another. Jackson, Harris, Strauss… one by one. He made sure they knew he wasn't intimidated. Aaron Hotchner was many things, but rarely intimidated.

"It needed to be done," he said finally, standing tall. Confident in his defence. "The members of the organization known as the Elite Four have been under investigation for years for their suspected inclusion in a series of brutal murders, the likes of which the members of this board have been sheltered from. They needed to be stopped."

Strauss stood, palm smacking the polished wood of the desk between them. At her feet, the Persian she kept by her side rose as well, black lips pulled back in a glistening warning. "So you decided that you would be the hero that went in there alone?" she snapped.

Hotch smiled. "No," he said, and brushed his hand against his belt where five Pokéballs hung reassuringly from the six pockets set into the thick leather. "I wasn't alone. I had my team."

"Your… team?" Jackson barked. "Your Pokémon? That wild, undertrained, uncontrolled bunch of—"

"My team." Hotch cut him off, without hesitation. "If you doubt them, let me tell you about them."